[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 23]
[Senate]
[Page 31860]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    HONORING SENATOR ROBERT C. BYRD

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, last night I had the honor and pleasure of 
going to a birthday party. I, personally, never had birthday parties. 
My mother always said my birthday was too close to Christmas, so I 
guess we made up for it on Christmas. But the party last night was 
sensational.
  Hundreds of people showed up. They showed up a few days early, but 
only a few days, because this coming week Senator Robert Byrd will be 
90 years old. He holds all kinds of records. I often compare him with 
the greatest baseball player of all time, Babe Ruth, for obvious 
reasons.
  What a pleasure it has been for me to serve in the Senate, but every 
day that goes by that I am able to serve in the Senate, I reflect upon 
how fortunate I am to serve with Senator Byrd and the many courtesies 
he has extended to me; from the first time I arrived in the Senate, 
when he asked: Senator, will you agree to conduct hearings for the 
Interior Subcommittee on Appropriations?
  That was as good as scoring a touchdown, to have Senator Byrd ask me 
to conduct a hearing. He was chairman of that subcommittee, and I did 
that. When work was to be done on that committee, it didn't matter what 
I had scheduled, I set it aside so I could satisfy Senator Byrd and do 
a good job of conducting those hearings.
  I wish Senator Byrd happy birthday. As I said last night at the 
birthday party, I also wish to tell him how much I appreciate all he 
has done for me personally, all he has done for the people of West 
Virginia, all he has done for the people of the State of Nevada, and 
all he has done for our country.
  It is such a thought-provoking thing, to think that I have been able 
to serve with Senator Byrd and serve in some of the positions he has 
held: Minority leader, majority leader, minority whip, majority whip.
  Last night I was so happy. Senator Byrd was his old self. There he 
was up there in front of everybody, without a note, reciting poetry 
from memory. I have said it before, but I will say it again, I want him 
to hear this and I want everyone else to hear this. I have a lot of 
favored stories about Senator Byrd, but this is my favorite.
  I came back from Nevada. I was right back here. Senator Byrd said: 
What did you do this weekend?
  I said: Senator Byrd, I grabbed a little paperback book out of my 
library and I read ``The Adventures of Robinson Crusoe.''
  Senator Byrd did as I have seen him do many times: Robinson Crusoe? 
He was on that island 28 years, 6 months, 2 weeks, and 3 days.
  I looked at him. I said: What is he talking about? I just read the 
book. I went back to my home and looked, and there it was. He hadn't 
read the book for 40 years, but in that computer he has that is a 
brain, he was able to recall that.
  That is only one indication of the abilities of this orphan who is so 
proud of being from West Virginia. He may have been an orphan growing 
up, but he is not an orphan in the Senate. He has a family who loves 
him.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, when Robert C. Byrd was born, America 
had just sent its first troops to France, an angry mob had just 
abolished private property in Russia, and the New York Times published 
its first op-ed piece.
  Unfortunately, the ``Times'' would continue to publish daily 
editorials in addition to those op-eds. But fortunately for the country 
and for us, his colleagues, the Lord granted Robert Carlyle Byrd the 
gift of years--a lot of them.
  Next week, Senator Byrd celebrates one more milestone in a long and 
growing list of them: his 90th birthday. And I think I speak for every 
Member of this body when I say we are grateful to have lived in an age 
in which we could serve with such a remarkable man.
  Writing about the foundation of any great society, Ralph Waldo 
Emerson wrote:

     Not gold, but only men can make a nation great and strong
     Men who for truth and honor's sake stand fast and labor long
     Real men who work while others sleep
     Who dare while others fly
     They build a nation's pillars deep
     And lift them to the sky

  Robert Byrd is such a man. Indeed, those words seem almost to have 
been written with him in mind.
  Senator, we revere you for your many achievements, we thank you for 
always bringing us back to our purpose here, we wish you a very happy 
birthday, and many more to come.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Oklahoma.

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